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Sicilian Culture: News & Views

Italy Involved in Mideast Peace Process
From www.italy-news.net

ROME (AFP) March 10, 2002— Tens of thousands of people marched in Rome on Saturday to call for the creation of a Palestinian state and express solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The protest — organised by the Democratic Left, the Green party, two Communist parties and anti-globalisation groups — brought traffic in central Rome to a standstill, as demonstrators marched in intermittent rain.

Organisers said some 50,000 people participated in the three-kilometre march along the Italian capital's main thoroughfares.

The demonstration ended at the Piazza Navona, where speakers called for peace in the Middle East and an end to the bloodshed, a day after the deadliest day in the 17-month conflict, which left more than 50 Palestinians dead.

Many protesters — among them women wearing Islamic headscarves — said they believed Israelis and Palestinians could live together in peace.

Demonstrators said they supported both the security of the state of Israel, and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Police were out in force to maintain order — ahead of a Lazio-AS Roma football match set for Sunday — but no incidents were reported.

PALESTINIAN LEADER CONFIRMS ITALY'S IMPORTANCE IN PEACE PROCESS
According to Yasser Arafat, Italy could, because of its historical, religious and geopolitical ties with the Middle East, and because of its good relationship with the United States and its position in Europe, become a catalyst in the troubled area's peace process. The Palestinian leader made this declaration yesterday, on the eve of a summit meeting in Brussels between the European Union's foreign ministers, where a Saudi Arabian Middle East peace proposal will be on the agenda.

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